The vegetation and climate change during Neocene and Early Quaternary in Jiuxi Basin,China

Desertification and aridification in the inland of Asia are the important scientific issues pertaining to the existing environment of mankind and the sustain-able development of society in western China. The onset and evolution sequence, development and proc-ess of history and the mechanism of this transition are thought to be one of the most attractive hot objects of research on climatic changes in the Northern Hemi-sphere during the Cenozoic, which may have involved glaciation in the North…     

Pliocene flora and paleoenvironment of Zanda Basin,Tibet, China

This paper describes a plant megafossil assemblage from the Pliocene strata of Xiangzi, Zanda Basin in the western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Twenty-one species belonging to 12 genera and 10 families were identified. Studies show that the Pliocene vegetation in Zanda Basin was mostly deciduous shrub composed of Cotoneaster, Spiraea, Caragana, Hippophae,Rhododendron, Potentilla fruticosa, etc. Leaf sizes of these taxa were generally small. Paleoclimate reconstruction using Coexistence Analysis and CLAMP showed that this area had higher temperature and precipitation in the Pliocene than today, and distinct seasonal precipitation variability was established. The reconstructed paleoelevation of Zanda Basin in the Pliocene was similar to modern times. In the context of central Asian aridification, the gradual drought in the area beginning in the late Cenozoic caused vegetation to transition from shrub to desert, and the flora composition also changed.     

Paleoclimate evolution and aridification mechanism of the eastern Tethys during the Callovian–Oxfordian: evidence from geochemical records of the Qiangtang Basin,Tibetan Plateau

Global climate during the Jurassic has been commonly described as a uniform greenhouse climate for a long time.However,the climate scenario of a cool episode during the Callovian-Oxfordian transition following by a warming trend during the Oxfordian(163.53 to157.4 Ma) is documented in many localities of the western Tethys.It is still unclear if a correlatable climate scenario also occurred in the eastern Tethys during the same time interval.In this study,a detailed geochemical analysis on the 1060 m thick successions(the Xiali and Suowa formations) from the Yanshiping section of the Qiangtang Basin,located in the eastern Tethys margin during the Callovian-Oxfordian periods,was performed.To reveal the climate evolution of the basin,carbonate content and soluble salt concentrations(SO_4~(2-),Cl~-) were chosen as climatic indices.The results show that the overall climate patterns during the deposition of the Xiali and Suowa formations can be divided into three stages:relatively humid(～164.0 to 160.9 Ma),dry(～160.9 to159.6 Ma),semi-dry(～159.6 to 156.8 Ma).A similar warming climate scenario also occurred in eastern Tethys during the Callovian-Oxfordian transition(～160.9 to159.6 Ma).Besides,we clarify that the Jurassic True polar wander(TPW),the motion of the lithosphere and mantle with respect to Earth's spin axis,inducing climatic shifts were responsible for the aridification of the Qiangtang Basin during the Callovian-Oxfordian transition with a review of the paleolatitude of the Xiali formation(19.7+2.8/-2.6° N) and the Suowa formation(20.7+4.1/-3.7° N).It is because the TPW rotations shifted the East Asia blocks(the North and South China,Qiangtang,and Qaidam blocks) from the humid zone to the tropical/subtropical arid zone and triggered the remarkable aridification during the Middle-Late Jurassic(ca.165-155 Ma).     

Global aridification in the second half of the 20th century and its relationship to large-scale climate background

The variation in surface wetness index (SWI), which was derived from global gridded monthly precipi- tation and monthly mean surface air temperature datasets of Climatic Research Unit (CRU), from 1951― 2002 over global land was analyzed in this paper. The characteristics of the SWI variation in global continents, such as North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia, were compared. In addition, the correlation between the SWI variation of each continent (or across the globe) and the large-scale background closely related to SST variations, which affects climate change, was analyzed. The results indicate that the SWI variation shows distinct regional characteristics in the second half of the 20th century under global warming. A drying trend in the last 52 years occurred in Africa, Eurasia, Australia and South America, most obviously in Africa and Eurasia. North America shows a wetting trend after 1976. A 30-year period of dry-wet oscillation is found in South America and Australia; the latest is in a drying period in two regions. The results also revealed that global warming has changed the dry-wet pattern of the global land. South America and Australia have a drying trend despite in- creases in precipitation. This indicates that increases in surface air temperature cannot be ignored in aridification studies. Global dry-wet variation is closely related to large-scale SST variations: the drying trend in Africa and Eurasia and the wetting trend in North America are correlated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO); the interdecadal oscillation of SWI in South America and Australia is consistent with the interdecadal variation in Southern Oscillation Index (SOI).     

Loess magnetic properties in the Ili Basin and their correlation with the Chinese Loess Plateau

Over the past two decades, magnetoclimatological studies of loess-paleosol sequences in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) have made outstanding achievements, which greatly promote the understanding of East Asian paleomonsoon evolution, inland aridification of Asia, and past global climate changes. Loess magnetic properties of the CLP have been well studied. In contrast, loess magnetic properties from outside the CLP in China have not been fully understood. We have little knowledge about the magnetic properties of loess in the Ili Basin, an intermontane depression of the Tianshan (or Tien Shan) Mountains. Here, we present the results of rock magnetic measurements of the Ili loess including mass magnetic susceptibility (χ) and anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), high/low temperature dependence of susceptibility (TDS) and hysteresis, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) for mineral analysis. Based on the comparison with loess-paleosol sequences in the CLP (hereafter referred to as the Chinese loess), we discuss the possible magnetic susceptibility enhancement mechanism of the Ili loess. The results show that 1) the total magnetic mineral concentration of the Ili loess is far lower than that of the Chinese loess, though they have similar magnetic mineral compositions. The ferrimagnetic minerals in the Ili loess are magnetite and maghemite, and the antiferromagnetic mineral is hematite; XRD analysis also identifies the presence of ilmenite. The ratio of maghemite is lower in the Ili loess than in the Chinese loess, but the ratios of magnetite and hematite are higher in the Ili loess than in the Chinese loess. 2) The granularity of magnetic minerals in the Ili loess, dominated by pseudo-single domain (PSD) and multi-domain (MD) grains, is generally much coarser than that of the Chinese loess. Ultrafine pedogenically-produced magnetic grains have a very limited contribution to the susceptibility enhancement. Rather, PSD and MD particles of magnetite and maghemite are the main contributors to the enhancement of susceptibility in the Ili loess. 3) The susceptibility enhancement mechanism for the Ili loess is complicated and superimposes both a wind velocity/vigor model (Alaskan or Siberian model) and the in situ ultrafine grain pedogenic model; the former might play an important role in the Ili loess. 4) Magnetic susceptibility enhancements of the Ili loess are related not only to the eolian input of the source area, but also to the local climate, landform, and geological background. Therefore, great care should be taken when reconstructing paleoclimate using magnetic susceptibility data from the Ili loess.     

Mass extinction and Pangea integration during the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition

The greatest Phanerozoic mass extinction happened at the end-Permian to earliest Triassic.About 95%species,82%genera,and more than half families became extinct,constituting the sole macro-mass extinction in geological history.This event not only caused the great extinction but also destroyed the 200 Myr-long Paleozoic marine ecosystem,prompted its transition to Mesozoic ecosystem,and induced coal gap on land as well as reef gap and chert gap in ocean.The biotic crisis during the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition was a long process of co-evolution between geospheres and biosphere.The event sequence at the Permian-Triassic boundary(PTB)reveals two-episodic pattern of rapidly deteriorating global changes and biotic mass extinction and the intimate relationship between them.The severe global changes coupling multiple geospheres may have affected the Pangea integration on the Earth’s surface spheres,which include:the Pangea integration→enhanced mountain height and basin depth,changes of wind and ocean current systems;enhanced ocean basin depth→the greatest Phanerozoic regression at PTB,disappearance of epeiric seas and subsequent rapid transgression;the Pangea integration→thermal isolation effect of continental lithosphere and decrease of mid-ocean ridges→development of continental volcanism;two-episode volcanism causing LIPs of the Emeishan Basalt and the Siberian Trap(259–251 Ma)→global warming and mass extinction;continental aridification and replacement of monsoon system by latitudinal wind system→destruction of vegetation;enhanced weathering and CH4emission→negative excursion ofδ13C;mantle plume→crust doming→regression;possible relation between the Illawarra magnetic reversal and the PTB extinction,and so on.Mantle plume produced the Late Permian LIPs and mantle convection may have caused the process of the Pangea integration.Subduction,delamination,and accumulation of the earth’s cool lithospheric material at the"D"layer of CMB started mantle plume by heat compensation and disturbed the outer core thermo-convection,and the latter in turn would generate the mid-Permian geomagnetic reversal.These core and mantle perturbations may have caused the Pangea integration and two successive LIPs in the Permian,and probably finally the mass extinction at the PTB.     

The Qingzang Movement: The major uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Thirty-five years ago, the idea of a young Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was proposed based on a comprehensive investigation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This hypothesis suggested that the plateau began to rise from a planation surface(relict surface) that was less than 1000 m high formed during the Miocene to Pliocene. The fast uplift, i.e., the Qingzang Movement, began since ~3.6 Ma, evidenced by massive molasse deposits around the plateau margin and the synchronous occurrence of faulted basins within the plateau. However, later studies challenged this idea and suggested earlier(8, 14 or 35 Ma) formation of the huge plateau topography. Here we reevaluate the Qingzang Movement on the basis of our previous results and in light of new studies in the recent decades. The plateau margin has been subjected to intensive incision by very large drainages and shows the landscape characteristics of an "infant" stage of the geomorphological cycle. However, these drainages were not formed until 1.7–1.9 Ma; headwater erosion has not yet reached the hinterland of the plateau, so the interior of Tibet is free of significant erosion despite its lofty elevation, and remains an "old stage" landform. If the mean erosion rate is equivalent to the sum of clastic and soluble discharges of the modern rivers draining the Tibetan Plateau, it should have been worn down to a lowland within 8.6 Ma, ignoring tectonic uplift and isostasy. The massive conglomerate around the plateau margin began to deposit at about 3.6 Ma, indicating an increased relief after that time. Furthermore, the Hipparion fauna sites were widely distributed, and elephants, giraffes, and rhinos were abundant in the Qaidam Basin until the early Pliocene. Cenozoic climate change alone is not able to account for the dense occurrence of Hipparion fauna, unless the paleo-elevation of Tibet was lowered. The rise of Tibet since the Qingzang Movement has had a great influence on the Asian interior aridification.     

A New Study Item of Earthquake Precursors: The Escaping Gas Rn in Groundwater

In this paper,the authors discussed the high sensibility of gas Rn to the deformation of rock in the crust by contrasting observation of Rn gas with dissolved Rn in groundwater and by studying the precursors of earthquakes of Rn gas and dissolved Rn.The change of earth tide of rock in the crust can be observed with the methods of gas Rn in groundwater.Before the 1989 Datong-Yanggao earthquake,the changes of gas Rn indicated that the gas Rn can reveal the slight related changes of stress of rock in the crust in a magnified way.So the research of the gas Rn in groundwater,as a new observation item of earthquake precursors in groundwater,has broad prospects.     

Discovery and its geological significance of the mantle-derived helium in the inclusions of the Ordovician oil-bearing reservoir rocks in the Huanghua depression,China

The values of the helium isotopes in the inclusions of the Ordovician reservoir rocks in the Kongxi buried hill belt in the Huanghua depression were first measured and the source of helium and its geological significance were investigated in comparison with those of the helium isotopes in the conclusions in the Ordovician rocks in the Ordos basin and the Tarim basin. The input of the mantle-derived helium into the inclusions in the carbonate reservoir rocks was found from the Konggu 3 well, the Konggu 4 well, and the Konggu 7 well in the Kongxi buried hill belt. The 3He/4He and R/Ra in the conclusions in the Ordovician oil-bearing reservoir rocks in the Konggu 7 well average 2.54×10-6(3) (sample quantity, the same below) and 1.82(3), respectively. The percent of the mantle-derived helium in the inclusions of the reservoir rocks in the Konggu 7 well reaches up to an average of 23.0%(3). The age of the contribution of the mantle-derived helium to the inclusions in the Kongxi buried hill belt is in the La     

The provenance of Gansu Group in Longxi region and implications for tectonics and paleoclimate

The Neogene sediments of Gansu Group from northwestern China contain eolian and fluvial deposits.The origins of these sediments are very important for exploring the onset of Asian inland aridification,the pattern of paleo-atmospheric circulation,and the regional tectonics and geomorphic evolution during the Miocene.Here we present detrital-zircon age spectra of typical eolian and fluvial deposits from highlands and subsidence basin,and compare them with those of surrounding eroded mountain(such as the West Qinling Mountains and Liupan Mountains)materials and Quaternary loess derived from the Asian inlands.The results reveal that(1)the detrital-zircon age spectrum of the Miocene eolian sample is remarkably different from the eroded materials of the West Qinling Mountains and the Miocene fluvial deposits from Tianshui region,but very similar to the Quaternary loess deposits.This indicates that the provenance of Miocene eolian sediments is similar with the Quaternary loess,and thus further confirms the previous conclusions that the distribution of Asian arid lands and the pattern of atmospheric circulation during the Miocene are broadly similar with the Quaternary.(2)The detrital-zircon age spectrum of the fluvial deposits(with age about 11.5 Ma)from Tianshui region is different from the eroded materials of West Qinling Mountains,but similar with that of the Liupan Mountains to the east,which may suggest that the Liupan Mountains have already been exhumed by11.5 Ma.     

Complex petroleum accumulating process and accumulation series in the buried-hill trend in the rift basin:An example of Xinglongtai structure trend,Liaohe subbasin

The buried-hill trend is a typical style of the petroliferous structure in the faulted basin of eastern China. The Xinglongtai structure trend in the Liaohe subbasin,Bohai Bay Basin is a buried faulted-hill trend resulting from the periodic faulting of the Tai’an-Dawa faults. The structure was cut by various faults,which are interlinked and constitute the conduits for petroleum migration. Petroleum accumulated in the Tertiary sandstones and pre-Tertiary basement of metamorphosed rocks through the migration pathways of the fault system. Petroleum in the structure was derived from different hydrocarbon kitchens to form a hybrid field complex. Petroleum charged the structure from different directions and accumulated in various reservoirs through different pathways in different times. The accumulations in the buried hill trend of Xingongtai are composed of two types of traps in the two stratigraphic systems: traps in the Tertiary sandstones were formed by the fault blocks and by the pinchout of the sandstone,and traps in the pre-Tertiary basement of metamorphosed rocks were formed by fissures in the inner part of the buried hills and by the unconformity near the surface of the buried hills.     

勃拉茨克水库生态监测成果

Regime observations 017 the zoobenthos state in the Balagansk transect in 1971, 1972 and in the Odissa bay in 1987-1993 of the Bratsk Reservoir were conducted.In 1991-1993 there is a change in the zoobenthos structure of the Bratsk Reservoir. In the depth zone of 0-5 m in the Balagansk transect in 1971-1972 the bottom community was considered as Gammaridae-Chiro-nomodae, in 1991 as Gammaridae-Ephemeroptera in 1992-1993 as Chironomidae-Ephemeroptera-Gammaridae. As compared with 1968-1972 the importance of Gammaridae decreased and the role of Ephemeroptera increased in the zoobenthos structure in 1991-1993.Changes were noted in the species composition of the Ologochaeta fauna and increase of the role of Oligochaeta in the zoobenthos in 1991-1993 as compared with 1965-1972.During all studies Chironomidae played a significant role in the zoobenthos. Since 1989 Paratanytarsus baialensis, bailialian endemic, has occurred in the Chironomidae fauna.The comparison of zoobenthos has shown that aver-age number and biomass of bortom invertebrates by 3-6 times and species diversity by 2.25 are higher^ in the Odissa bay than in the Balagansk transect.     

Study on changes in bed characteristics and friction factor in the presence of wash load in suspension

Results of an experimental study on the effects of different concentrations of wash load on the size of bed features and resistance to flow in a laboratory flume are presented. The experiments were carried out under different hydraulic conditions in a 30 m long, 0.204 m wide and 0.5 m deep tilting flume under clear water condition and in the presence of different concentration of wash load in the flow. The bed material used consisted of uniform sediment of size 0.96 mm. Analysis of the data indicates that the characteristics of the bed features change and friction factor increases in the presence of different concentration of wash load in the flow. The reasons for changes in the characteristics of the bed features and increase in friction factor in the presence of wash load are identified and a relationship for predicting friction factor in the presence of wash load has been established.     

Study of the Relation Between the Features of Fault Deformation Tendency Anomaly and Earthquake Activity in the West of China

Using the tendentious accumulation rate of crustal deformation,DC,the spatial distributionfeatures of deformation across fault in the West of China was studied;the regional patterns ofdeformation accumulation induced by fault activity was established and its seismogenicmeaning was discussed.The types of fault deformation evolution in the time domain and thefeatures of change of large extent anomaly in fault deformation which occurred in 1995～1996was analyzed comprehensively.It was indicated definitely that 1995～1996 is the turningpoint of fault network activity in the West of China since the 1990s;it is closely related to thechange of main seismic active regions in the West of China,i.e,the alternation of strong/weak stages and the change of action range of tectonic stress field in the Qinghai-Tibet blockand its environs;and hence it is of medium-and short-term precursor meaning for the changeof the overall pattern of earthquake activity in the West of China in the year 1996.On such abasis,a preliminar     

Temporal and spatial variation characteristics of present stress field in the northern area of North China

From focal mechanism solutions of the earthquakes in the northern part of North China during the period of 2002～2006,the directions of principal stress axes in 4 stress sub-districts are analyzed using a grid test method.The characteristic of present crustal stress directions is discussed.Based on this result and on the focal mechanism solutions calculated for some events in the period of 1977～1998,in combination with some other study results,the temporal variation of present crustal stress directions in the northern part of North China is investigated.The re-sults confirm that the direction of crustal principal stress in some regions had somewhat rotated after the 1976 Tangshan M7.8 earthquake.The mean P axes of the focal mechanism solutions rotated clockwise not only in Tangshan sub-district,but also in Beijing and Xingtai sub-districts after the Tangshan earthquake.In Beijing and Xingtai sub-districts the orientations of principal stress axes in the period of 2002～2006 are consistent with that before the Tangshan earthquake,implying that the stress orientations has rotated back to the state before the Tang-shan earthquake in these two sub-districts.The directions of the mean P axes are nearly E-W in Tangshan sub-dis-trict since the M7.8 earthquake.The present stress field in the sub-district northwest to Beijing,or in the western part of the Zhangjiakou-Bohai fault zone,is relatively stable during the time period concerned in this study.Because of the limitation of data,this paper only states a possible variation of stress field in the northern part of North China in the recent decades.     

Vulnerability Analysis in Earthquake Loss Estimate

The adobes in Costa Rica have almost the same vulnerability as the old civil houses in China, which represent vulnerability in the worst case. On the other hand, the high quality buildings in Costa Rica have the same vulnerability as the reinforced concrete buildings in China due to the adoption of state-of-art techniques in design and construction, which represent the vulnerability of the best case. The macroeconomic vulnerability defined by Chen et al. falls in the middle of the two extreme cases of the inventory studied because the total macroscopic loss is the sum of losses of different types of buildings and facilities. Therefore the macroeconomic vulnerability must be greater than that of the best case and less than that of the worst. The use of macroscopic vulnerability in earthquake loss estimate is easy, simple and feasible. The vulnerability plots are preliminary in nature and should be refined with additional earthquake loss data.     

Preliminary Study on Probabilistic Prediction of Seismic Hazard in a Period of 10 Years

Many uncertainty factors need be dealt with in the prediction of seismic hazard for a 10-year period.Restricted by these uncertainties,the result of prediction is also uncertain to a certain extent,so the probabilistic analysis method of seismic hazard should be adopted.In consideration of the inhomogeneity of the time,location,and magnitude of future earthquakes and the probabilistic combination of the background of long-term seismic hazard(geology,geophysical field,etc.)and the precursors of earthquake occurrence,a model of probabilistic prediction of seismic hazard in a period of 10 years s proposed.Considering the inhomogeneity of data and earthquake precursors for different regions in China,a simplified model is also proposed in order to satisfy the needs of different regions around the country.A trial in North China is used to discuss the application of the model.The method proposed in this paper can be used in the probabilistic prediction of seismic hazard in a period of 10 years.According to the     

Devonian Frasnian-Famennian transitional event deposits of Guangxi, South China and their possible tsunami origin

A suite of event deposits, isochronous and interrelated in origin, occurs widely near the Frasnian- Famennian boundary in Guangxi, South China. It is mainly distributed in the facies areas of the platform-margin slope and inter-platform rift-trough. The rudstone or calcirudite occur in the Liujing section of Hengxian and Luoxiu and Baqi sections of Xiangzhou in the facies area of platform-margin slope. The turbidites are observed in the sections of Yangdi and Baisha of Guilin, Du'an of Debao, Nandong and Sanli of Wuxuan, Xiangtian, Ma'anshan of Xiangzhou, Nayi of Chongzuo, Yunpan of Shanglin in the facies area of inter-platform rift-trough. The massive homogenites occur in sections of Mangchang, Luofu and Road from Nandan to Tian'e and Ma'anshan etc in the facies area of inter-platform rift-trough. Herein event deposits can be correlated in stratohorizon to the turbidite in the bottom of the Lower triangularis Zone in Hony railroad cut of Belgium, Devils Gate of Nevada, USA, Atrous of Morocco, South Urals and Fore-Kolyma of northeastern Siberia of Russia, and erosional discontinuities and brecciation in the Frasnian-Famennian boundary in South Polish-Moravian shelf. The event deposits could be caused by a violent tsunami related to bolide impacts into ocean.     

ew Breakthrough in Research of Framework and Faults in Basement of Turfan Sag

The deep information of the Turfan sag was extracted and analyzed through the re-processing of the magneto-gravitational data of the Turfan sag in the Turfan-Hami basin. It is considered that the basement faults have played an important role in the controlling of the framework, lithology and the distribution of volcanic rocks in the basement of the Turfan sag. The deep crystalline basement and the upper Hercynian folded basement were studied part by part in the sag through the combined data of aeromagnetic and electric methods. It is revealed that the Huoyanshan fault is steep in the upper and lower parts but gentle in the middle, displaying a “S” type texture, and discovered that there are at least a row of local structures in the down-thrown block of the Huoyanshan fault, through the CEMP prospecting in Huoyanshan. The result is very important for the studying of the Turfan sag as a whole.     

Discussion on the Relation Between the Probabilistic Distribution of Magnitude in a Seismic Province and That in an Area with Potential Seismic Source

According to the joint probabilistic distribution model of magnitude and space,the author discusses the relationship between the probabilistic distribution of magnitude in a seismic province and that in an area with potential seismic sources.The results show that if the magnitude probabilistic distribution follows the truncated exponential form in a seismic province,there must be some potential source in which the magnitude probabilistic distribution does not conform to that form.The result is consistent with the concept of "characteristic earthquake" derived from the study of actual records of seismicity and the study of geology.The author suggests that the relationship between the probabilistic distribution of magnitude in a seismic province and that in a seismic potential area must be considered in the study of the analysis of seismicity,seismic zonation and engineering seismology,for the purpose of the evaluation of the probabilistic distribution of magnitude correctly in every area with potential s